Dementia, Advance Directives, and Second‐Order Volitions
Abstract
This paper contributes to the ongoing debate over the authority of advance directives in cases where patients with dementia express desires that conflict with their earlier wishes. Drawing on Harry Frankfurt's concept of second-order volitions, I argue that the preferences of the pre-dementia self (the "then-self") should, in most cases, take precedence over those of the post-dementia self (the "now-self")-particularly in instances where the now-self has lost the capacity to form second-order volitions and is no longer able to meaningfully repudiate prior values and commitments.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Ethics and bioethics in healthcare
Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues
Healthcare Decision-Making and Restraints
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Bioethics
- Volume
- 40
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 530–535
- Publication date
- 19 January 2026
- Language
- EN